Homerus from Byzantium

Byzantium

Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...

 was an ancient Greek grammarian and tragic poet. He was also called ho Neoteros ("the Younger"), to distinguish him from the older Homerus (Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

).

The son of the grammarian Andromachus Philologus

Andromachus Philologus

Andromachus Philologus was the husband of the poet Moero and father of Homerus of Byzantium....

 and the poetess Moero

Moero

Moero or Myro was a poet of the 3rd century BCE from the city of Byzantium.She was the wife of Andromachus Philologus and the mother of Homerus of Byzantium....

 (some sources give her as Homerus's daughter), he flourished in the beginning of the 3rd century BC, in the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BCE to 246 BCE. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice, and was educated by Philitas of Cos...

 at Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

. Together with his main rival, Sositheus

Sositheus

Sositheus , Greek tragic poet, of Alexandria Troas, a member of the Alexandrian "pleiad".He must have resided at some time in Athens, since Diogenes Laërtius tells us that he attacked the Stoic Cleanthes on the stage, and was hissed off by the audience...

, he is counted among the seven great tragics of the Alexandrian canon, or "Pleiad

Alexandrian Pleiad

The Alexandrian Pleiad is the name given to a group of seven Alexandrian poets and tragedians in the 3rd century BC working in the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus...

" (named after the constellation of seven stars

Pleiades (star cluster)

In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky...

). Homerus is variously attributed 45, 47 or 57 plays, all of them now lost. Only the title of one, Eurypyleia

Eurypylus

In Greek mythology, Eurypylus was the name of several different people.-Son of Thestius:One Eurypylus was a son of Thestius. He participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, during which he insulted Atalanta and was killed by Meleager.-Son of Euaemon:Another Eurypylus was a Thessalian king,...

, survives.

Sources

• William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology